| Who asked this joker | 16 May 2016 7:38 a.m. PST |
I have a couple of Italian vehicles from Britannia/Grubby (I think) made almost completely of resin. The gun barrels are the only metal bit. The have been "cast" into the model. I bought these from a fellow TMPr a few years ago and have just now gotten around to painting them. So upon unpacking them from their bubble wrap, I found that several of the fenders were broken as in large chips had broken off on the extremities. Fortunately, the pieces were "chunks" so that I could glue them back into place. They were thin bits but the resin was quite hard. I was a little surprised they were broken given the bubble wrap and good packaging. Does resin get brittle like some plastics do over time? Am I expecting too much from resin regarding the durability? Has anyone else had this issue with their models? A quick mini-review. The models in question are the Autoblinda AB-40 scout car and the Semovente 75/34 assault gun. Both models have very crisp detail and generally very straight lines. There is a bit of sanding to be done to get the wheels and turret of the scout car to fin into place. There was almost no cleanup to be done on the assault gun. As stated above, all parts are resin save the gun barrel. Other Britannia models seem to have metal tracks. Both are very nice looking models. I am happy to have them in my collection. John |
| MajorB | 16 May 2016 7:51 a.m. PST |
Does resin get brittle like some plastics do over time? Am I expecting too much from resin regarding the durability? Has anyone else had this issue with their models? I've never had a problem with resin getting brittle over time. |
Joes Shop  | 16 May 2016 8:19 a.m. PST |
Resin does not get brittle over time but thin cross section pieces such as fenders have very little shear strength and can break or crack easily with just slight pressure. |
| shaun from s and s models | 16 May 2016 8:29 a.m. PST |
if you bought them a while ago and the seller had them for a while then it is probably the resin, britania like a lot of us used to used polyester resin, but we now use polyurethane resin which does not shatter and is a bit more pliable, although they can still snap,
old polyester resin is terrible for going brittle, I have binned quite a few old stock models because of this. |
| Gaz0045 | 16 May 2016 9:01 a.m. PST |
'I have binned quite a few old stock models because of this.' Noooooooooo! |
| shaun from s and s models | 16 May 2016 11:06 a.m. PST |
yes gaz
even I could do nothing with them or I would have kept them! |
| Who asked this joker | 16 May 2016 11:32 a.m. PST |
Well the fenders are quite thin. I guess I just need to handle them with care. |
| Hornswoggler | 16 May 2016 8:39 p.m. PST |
Resin CAN get brittle over time. Poorly mixed and/or some older resin compounds (as Shaun mentioned) sometimes continue to 'cure' or 'sweat' over an extended period and this drying out can eventually lead to brittleness. Also, if the models in question were stored for a long period in plastic or bubble wrap that could also have an effect on this process. |
 foxbat | 16 May 2016 11:30 p.m. PST |
I had the same problem with a Retrokit Lorraine 28. I used some green stuff, and strengthened it by glueing a thin strip of tin sheet of the kind you usually find at the top of wine bottles (I'm from Bordeaux  ), gently filed away excess stuff, and this did an acceptable job. |
